SAN FRANCISCO — Derrick Rose meant well when he said it. He probably even meant every word. This was a few weeks ago, just as the game he was bringing to the floor every night was starting to match the one from his — and everyone else’s — memory.

“My goal is to play 82,” Rose said. “I don’t want to miss a game, playing against every great team in this league, playing against every great player from [Damian Lillard] to Kemba [Walker] to [Russell] Westbrook.”

That always was going to be dicey, of course, because his legs have sabotaged so much of the past five years for him, because that 82-game grind to which he aspired was going to be a terrible gauntlet after missing 119 games the past three seasons. In his heart, he probably knew that.

And in his mind, he probably was ready to heed the warning signs from his knees, his ankles, his hamstrings, his calves.

His back, though?

That has been an unwelcome addition to his roster of ailments. Spasms already have cost him two full games and parts of two others, including one of those matchups he clearly had circled on his personal calendar, last Wednesday night at the Garden against the defending-champion Cavaliers.

Now, it likely is to keep him in street clothes Thursday night when the Knicks play the league’s showcase team, the Warriors, at Oracle Arena on national television.

“I live for these games,” Rose said Wednesday afternoon, after the Knicks practiced at the Olympic Club and Rose was able to partake only peripherally, shooting and taking treatment. “I made a name for myself playing in big games. Not being able to participate in these games [stinks], I’ve worked so hard getting ready.”

He shrugged.

“I need to listen to my body,” he said.

These games are torture for Rose to sit out, but they’re equally difficult for the Knicks — who, in a short period of time, already have gotten used to the various ways Rose positively impacts their games. They may have lost to Cleveland anyway, but you have to believe the game would have been more competitive.

“He has to be frustrated,” Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said. “He sees the way that game goes and has to believe that he could have made a difference, contributing to us winning the game.”

But that is the deal with this team now. Look, there certainly are moments when Brandon Jennings can be electric, and, if necessary, he could be the starting point guard for a game here, a few there — though his propensity for unforced errors visibly spikes Hornacek’s blood pressure.

But that is really the 800-pound elephant stalking the Knicks as a whole, isn’t it: the razor-thin line separating the fun, feel-good team they’ve been most nights from what easily could be lurking? They became an entirely different team for the final few minutes of overtime after Kristaps Porzingis fouled out. Can you imagine losing him for three weeks with a high ankle sprain?

Carmelo Anthony has played sluggishly in two of the first three games of this western trip. Eventually the Knicks will need to give him games off here and there, but the Knicks aren’t the Cavs. They can’t treat individual games as carelessly as Cleveland can, leaving stars home every few weeks.

In truth, the Warriors game is exactly the kind of game to sit Rose and Melo if that is what you’re looking for — a game they aren’t likely to win even if they play perfectly. But Melo just laughed at the notion of missing out on this one. And Rose clearly would give just about everything to wake up Thursday morning without his back barking.

“I have to be smart about this,” Rose said, and so do the Knicks, even if being smart runs counter to what they want to be: whole. As often as possible. Preferably on game nights.